Domestic longhair
Neutered male
Dam: Hirmu-Jermu
Sire: Certain Big Black Tom
D.O.B.  30.9.2004

I had actually meant to get a blue, or silver tabby, or black purebred kitty girl... I wanted a longhair cat, so I had been thinking about possibly getting a Norwegian Forest Cat. But life is, as we all know, full of surprises. In October 2004 I had decided to finally make my longtime dream come true and get a cat, when a friend telephoned me. A stable cat of our acquaintance, Jermu by name, had given birth to her ninth unwanted litter of kittens - a hair-raising example of what happens if owners neglect to neuter their cats... Thus a white kitty boy joined my household. In spite of the less than favourable beginning of his life, the kitty boy turned out a wonderful fluffy family member. Santtulainen, Sanchopanza, Fluffycat, Snow-Lion, etc. is a sociable and playful creature who always wants to be where the action is - even in the mrreowrr-this-is-rather-hot sauna, if his humans are there. He vigilantly observes his mistress when she is washing her hair, so as to ensure that the deranged human will not drown underneath the artificial rain... Sandels loves ball games, and after vigorously batting his toys around the house, he will contentedly hop onto your lap and greet you nose-to-nose, purring like a harvester. This creature has made even my father, who used to be very sceptical where cats were concerned, coo over him besottedly... I could no longer imagine my home without Santtu, who pads around the house on silent paws, fluffy tail up in the air, and majestically settles down onto the nearest table to observe whatever is currently going on. Santtu is now almost three years of age and I must say - cliché though it may sound - that time has flown. I remember the tiny cottonwoolly ball that peeked out of the kitten box and emitted a faint meow... Sandels is still a cottonwoolly ball, all right, but the ball weighs over six kilos and the cottonwoolly fur gets everywhere! It's very cute and endearing when a huge cat wants to be a little kitten and cuddles up into as small a ball as he can. Less cute and endearing is cuddly Sandie-Laddie's transformation into saber-toothed Santher the Panther when it's time to comb his fluffy fur. Perhaps he would prefer dreadlocks... Sandels's racial background Contrary to common guesses, Sandels is not a Norwegian Forest Cat. He has also been mistaken for a Turkish Angora, which due to his features and build and the quality of his coat is a more plausible assumption. However, the rarity of the genuine Turkish Angora in this country makes this theory also dubious. To me, mama Jermu looks more like a Persian of the old type than a Turk, but who knows which breeds have mixed when cats have either been purposefully crossbred or, as is more common, allowed to run loose and procreate at random... (Photo J. Kataja-Aho)